Director Ryan Kao is responsible for developing crime reduction strategies and leading a dedicated team of crime analysts in support of the Department’s sworn members.
Prior to joining the Department in 2022, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted a wide range of cases, including robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, assault on peace officers, firearm trafficking, and homicide. He is recognized as an expert on firearms and was embedded in the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), where he worked with a team of SFPD officers and ATF agents to remove armed and dangerous criminals from the community. He has also specialized in DUI enforcement, particularly drug-impaired DUI and vehicular manslaughter, including cross-training as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) and receiving the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Outstanding Prosecutor Award for his work.
Director Kao is a native of Piedmont, CA, and holds a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought from Amherst College and a Juris Doctor with a specialization in Public Interest Law and Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.